Betroyed
by wildcats789
Summary: East High is in the midst of the auditions for the Spring Musical, and Gabriella is thinking of singing with Troy again. However, a new girl joins the class and changes everything. Who is this new girl and why is Troy so friendly to her? Could there be something going on that Gabriella doesn't know about? Please read and leave reviews!
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

BEEP! Troy Bolton jerked awake with a start as his alarm clock sprung to life. He groaned. Monday morning; not only five more days of school, but also five whole days until his next basketball match! His only bright point was basketball practice every day after school – and seeing his girlfriend, Gabriella Montez, of course.

"Hurry up, Troy!" Mrs Bolton called up to him. "There's a surprise waiting for you at school today…"

Meanwhile, Gabriella had already been awake for hours. Her mum had been trying to convince her to lie in, but she had just been reading such a good book. She couldn't wait for school; all that maths and science! However, the fun didn't stop there – she had Scholastic Decathlon club after school! And, of course, she might try to get into school early so she could chat to her boyfriend Troy Bolton…

As it happened, Gabriella only just got to homeroom on time. She had been completely immersed in her chemistry notes and only realised the time when the bell jerked her back into reality. She raced to homeroom and went straight to her seat at the back of the class, only pausing to smile at Troy who smiled back at her, the sort of smile that made her insides melt.

"Now, class, listen up," Ms Darbus said, her eyes twinkling and her voice musical. "We have a new girl coming in today…" She trailed off, as there was a knock on the door and an extremely pretty girl with curly blond hair and blue eyes walked in. Gabriella heard Troy gasp and looked at him to see him with his eyes wide and mouth open. Most of the boys in the room looked the same way. She felt confused and hurt but had no time to contemplate Troy's peculiar behaviour as Ms Darbus started speaking again.

"As I was saying, Kate Bentley will be joining our class for the foreseeable future. I trust you will all make her feel very welcome…do I have any volunteers for showing her round?"

Gabriella was about to raise her hand – after all, she had been a new student herself not so long ago – until she saw something that shocked her so much that she had to pinch herself to check she wasn't dreaming.

Troy had raised his hand.

"I'll show her around," he volunteered, leaving not only Gabriella dumbstruck but the whole of the homeroom. After all, Troy never showed new students around – with the exception of Gabriella – because he was just too busy with basketball!

Gabriella was confused and even a little jealous, put it to the back of her mind.

"Troy's just being friendly," she tried to convince herself. But when she saw them sitting next to each other at the front of the class chatting as if they'd known each other all their lives, it was hard to feel so positive.

**Thanks for reading! This is my first chapter I've published on a fanfiction website so please leave me reviews to tell me what you think **** thanks! **


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

However, at the end of homeroom, Ms Darbus made a startling announcement that blew all thoughts of Kate Bentley out of Gabriella's mind.

"On Wednesday, in free period, we will be holding auditions for our spring musical. You can find the sign up sheet on the notice board in the lobby."

Gabriella looked at Troy, her eyes wide with excitement and anticipation. However, Troy wasn't looking at her; he was looking at Kate, who was whispering excitedly to him. Gabriella clenched her fists and then felt upset with herself.

'You're not like this, Gabriella!' she told herself. 'You're friends with Ryan and Chad and Zeke and Jason – Troy can be friends with any girls he wants to be friends with!'

Gabriella decided to go and talk to Troy at recess. It would just be so fun to sing together like they had done before in 'Twinkletowne', just like kindergarten, as they always said.

'I used to be scared of singing in front of everyone,' Gabriella thought to herself, 'But with Troy I feel like I can do anything.'

When the bell went for recess, Gabriella jumped straight up to talk to Troy but found Taylor blocking her way, wanting to talk about their next Scholastic Decathlon competition.

"Hey Tay!" Gabriella exclaimed. "Sorry…cant chat now but see you in chemistry!" Not even waiting to see how offended Taylor was, she dodged past her out of the classroom then looked left and right, trying to work out where Troy had gone.

"Gabriella." Gabriella felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to find her chemistry teacher. Her teacher began talking to her about coaching some of the eighth and ninth graders and, frantic as she was, Gabriella couldn't help feeling excited and enthusiastic as she discussed the possibilities with her teacher. Although she felt a little embarrassed about it, science and maths was where she really became alive and she was really proud of being chosen!

Suddenly, the bell went signalling the end of recess. Gabriella was annoyed with herself – she had really wanted to go and talk to Troy – but told herself not to worry. After all, what could happen between recess and lunch?

On her way to her next lesson, Gabriella saw Troy, who was obviously showing Kate around the school. They were looking on the auditions sign up sheet and Troy was talking to Kate, who was nodding excitedly. Gabriella ground her teeth. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but…

She sighed and turned away, carrying on through the lobby to her algebra class.

At lunchtime, Gabriella bought her lunch from the cafeteria and went straight over to sit next to Troy who, thankfully, was sitting on his own.

"So…Troy?" Gabriella began to talk to him.

"Oh, hey, Gabriella!" he replied, smiling at her. For some unexplainable reason, Gabriella suddenly felt shy and awkward.

"Well, I was thinking about…you know the singing thing…the Spring musical…I was wondering whether you wanted to…?"

"Sing with you in the auditions?" Troy helped her out. Gabriella nodded excitedly, her eyes sparkling, glad that Troy had caught on so quickly. Troy didn't seem as excited as her, however.

"Well…I did tell…"

He watched the light go out of Gabriella's eyes and felt a strong pang of remorse.

"Sure," he said, putting a smile back on his face. "Let's go and speak to Kelsi!"

Gabriella felt relieved, but couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling that Troy was hiding something from her.

**Thanks for reading this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think **** thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

"Hey, Gabriella!" Gabriella had just finished Scholastic Decathlon club and was feeling very excited. Their next Scholastic Decathlon competition was in less then two weeks and they were well on their way to winning.

"Gabriella!" It was Troy. Just looking at him made all her annoyance and worries seep away. She just knew everything would be fine.

"Look," Troy said, out of breath with sweat dripping down his nose – he had obviously just been at basketball practice. "I'll have to go in a sec – but I had to ask coach for a two minute break because I needed to see you."

Gabriella's face glowed and she was delighted and relieved – she had just been paranoid after all!

"I know I'd said I'd come round after training but…" His dreamy blue eyes shifted uncomfortably. "Something's come up and I can't…" It wasn't Troy cancelling on her that made Gabriella feel uncertain, but the way he was so awkward about it.

"Oh, ok," Gabriella said, her voice slightly disappointed. "So, what are you doing instead?"

"I'm, er…well my dad's invited Kate round, so…"

Gabriella's heart sunk, but something didn't add up. Why would Troy say that his _dad_ had invited Kate round? However, Gabriella wanted to talk to Troy about something else.

"So, you and Kate seem pretty close," Gabriella said to Troy in a casual voice.

"Yeah, we're friends," Troy replied. "In fact, we're –" He cut himself off. "Oh man, Gabriella, I'm sorry but I've got to get back to the gym," he groaned and, as if on cue, a whistle sounded. "Look, I'll call you tonight." He kissed her on the cheek and then he was gone.

Gabriella slowly went back into the chemistry lab and, since apparently she had nothing better to do that evening, tried to learn pi to 50 decimal places. 3.1415926535897932…it was no good, she couldn't concentrate.

After a while, she decided to go and watch the end of Troy's basketball practice. Maybe she could go and buy a smoothie with Troy and Kate. Cheered by this thought, she bounded to the gym with a spring in her step, pausing before opening the door. She was always slightly scared of coach Bolton, who saw Gabriella as Troy's 'detention buddy'.

As she pressed her ear to the door however, it became apparent that practice was over. Although slightly disappointed, Gabriella thought that she might as well check whether Troy and Kate were in there. They were.

Kate was standing at the three-point line with a basketball in her hands. She shot it and it went in with a swish.

"Wow, don't tell me you're good at hoops, too!" Troy exclaimed.

"Well, back home, I was on the team," Kate grinned. She picked up another ball and did another outstanding shot. Troy picked her up and whirled her around.

Tears welled up in Gabriella's eyes and threatened to overflow. She practically ran out of the room, she was so desperate for troy not to see her cry. She was so upset, she didn't even notice Troy coming after her.

**Thanks for reading this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think **** thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

'You have five new answerphone messages. To listen to your messages press 1 –'

'This message was left at 6:26pm.

Hey Gabriella, it's Troy. I saw you walking out of the gym and you looked pretty upset so I was wondering if you were ok. Did I say that it's Troy? Call me back.'

'This message was left at 6:27pm.

Gabriella? I was thinking about the auditions. What song do you want to sing? We could go and practice with Kelsi before school tomorrow. Call me.'

'This message was left at 6:28pm.

Are you angry with me? Is it because I had Kate round today? If it is I'm really sorry but my dad fixed it all up and I couldn't get out of it so…please call me back.'

'This message was left at 6:29pm.

Gabriella, please? I'm worried about you. I'm coming round, ok?'

'This message was left at 6:29pm.

Gabriella?'

Gabriella sighed and turned off her phone. She wanted to call Troy back so much, but just didn't feel ready to speak to him, not after what she had seen earlier. Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and she heard her mother open the door. She checked her watch; it was 6:30pm. Wow, he was quick. She rushed over to the stairs and fiercely shook her head at her mother as Troy asked whether he could come in.

"Not today, Troy," Mrs Montez told him. "Gabriella's got a lot of, um, homework, but you'll see her at school tomorrow."

"Can you just tell her that I came by?" Troy asked. "And ask her to call me?" Gabriella rolled her eyes; as if she hadn't got the message already!

"Of course, Troy," Mrs Montez told him kindly. "And Troy?" she called out after his retreating figure. "Don't even think about climbing up to Gabriella's balcony!"

Gabriella disappeared back up to her room, but after a few minutes her mum came up and joined her.

"So, what's happened between you and Troy, Gabby?" Mrs Montez asked in her gentle voice.

"I don't know, mom," Gabriella told her mum. "It's just…" She began to explain all about her stressful day to her mother who listened carefully, evaluating all the information.

"Have you talked to Troy about this, Gabby?" her mom asked her.

"Well, I began to and he said that they were friends, but then he had to go and I haven't really had another opportunity."

"Ignoring his phone calls wont give you an opportunity, Gabby," her mom told her. "I think you should give Troy the benefit of the doubt. After all, neither Troy or Kate have done anything wrong and you hug Ryan and Zeke all the time, don't you?"

"Well, Zeke does bake me cookies!" Gabriella laughed. "You're right, mom. It's just…why would Troy want to go out with me, the freaky maths girl, over Kate, the popular, good looking, sporty cheerleader type girl?"

"You may be good at maths, Gabby," her mum said to her, "but there's a lot more to you then that! Now sleep well Gabriella. I love you!"

Once Gabriella's mom had left the room, Gabriella picked up her phone from where she had thrown it on the bed and hesitantly dialled Troy's number. He picked it up immediately. Gabriella began to wonder why Troy was so desperate to talk to her all of a sudden if he didn't have something to hide.

"Gabriella? I'm really sorry that -"

"No, Troy, I'm sorry," Gabriella interrupted. "My mum said I wasn't allowed to see or talk to anyone until I got my chemistry equations out of the way…" Troy laughed, and the conversation flowed in the natural, easy-going way that it always did when Gabriella was talking to Troy.

It was more then two hours later when Gabriella finally put the phone down, and she went to sleep with a smile on her face.

**Thanks for reading this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think **** thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

It was lunchtime the next day and Gabriella was on her way to the music room where she was going to meet Troy to practice for their audition. The only thing was, they hadn't been told what they were going to sing yet; and the audition was the next day! However, Gabriella was sure that Kelsi, who was also meeting them in the music room, would be able to tell them.

Troy had beaten her to the music room; however, Gabriella could tell by the murmurs that Troy was not alone.

"So, you won't tell anyone our secret, them?" Kate said in a hushed voice. Secret, thought Gabriella. What secret?

"If anyone finds out about our relationship, if they know how close we are, they'll just associate me with the popular basketball hero Troy Bolton. I don't want people to know about our bond because I want a chance to be my own person."

"That's fine," Troy said, and Gabriella could hear the smile in his voice. "Have you decided what song we're doing for the auditions for the Spring Musical yet?"

Gabriella stumbled backwards as if she had been hit. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but the words had drawn her in and she knew that if she heard another word she would explode. Unable to digest the meaning, she ran off to be on her own, not to the chemistry lab or maths rooms – Troy would know to look for her there – but to a secluded part of the playground.

Trying to make sense of what she had just seen, Gabriella thought through what Kate and Troy had said. Kate had definitely said something about their 'relationship' and 'bond' and she was sure that Troy had hinted that he was doing the auditions with Kate…but surely he wouldn't do that, would he?

Gabriella wiped away a tear that had escaped her and promised herself that she would not shed another tear for Troy Bolton. Instead, she got out her favourite book and began to read.

Meanwhile, Troy was confused. He was sure that Gabriella had said that they were meeting in the music rooms at ten past twelve, but it was twenty-five past already and she still hadn't turned up. Kelsi wasn't there either, but Troy knew why that was, of course. Troy decided to check in the maths rooms; maybe Gabriella had lost herself in algebraic equations.

However, when Troy reached the maths room, the only person currently residing there was Kate.

"Oh, hey, Troy," she said, immersed in the calculations. "Have you seen Gabriella? I want her to explain these equations to me."

"No, I was looking for her myself actually, and I thought she might be in here," Troy replied.

"Well, I've been in here since ten past twelve, but maybe the lunch queues are just extra long or something," Kate smiled, obviously trying to make Troy feel better.

"Yeah I'm sure that's it," said Troy. But he knew Gabriella was a packed lunch on rehearsal days and she never forgot appointments. She couldn't be avoiding him, could she?

**Thanks for reading this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think **** thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

It was Wednesday; the day of the auditions. Troy had called Gabriella the previous night, but she hadn't picked up the phone, not even listened to the answerphone messages. However, she couldn't resist looking at one text.

Call me, please? xxxxxxxx

Gabriella just didn't get how Troy could be so friendly with this girl he had only known for two days. To be fair, after observing Kate, she had to admit that Kate was very nice – quite like Troy, to be honest – but the only explanation that Gabriella had about Troy's peculiar behaviour was that Troy felt the same way about Kate that Gabriella felt about Troy.

The many books she carried on her way into school weighed Gabriella down, and when she reached the steps she tripped, resulting in both her and her books going flying. Immediately, Kate rushed up to her.

"Gabriella, are you ok?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine," Gabriella replied, looking at the ground instead of at Kate.

"Do you want a hand with your books?" Kate asked, her kind personality shining through.

"Look, I don't need _your_ help, ok?" Gabriella said, quite aggressively, and instantly felt bad; after all, she had a kind nature too.

"Oh…ok then," Kate said, sounding surprised. As Kate slowly walked off, Gabriella's conscience prickled even more, because Kate's voice hadn't sounded angry or upset like most girls' voices would have. Instead, it just sounded really upset, as if Kate had really wanted to be her friend but Gabriella had rejected her.

Gabriella didn't know why she was being so mean – well she did really. It was because she was jealous of Kate who was everything she wanted to be; cool, confident, sporty, pretty and, most importantly, Troy really liked her. Still, that was no excuse. Gabriella knew she was starting to act like –

"Hey, Gabriella!" It was Sharpay.

"Oh, Sharpay! I was just thinking of you, actually!" Gabriella replied with a mischievous grin on her face

"And why wouldn't you be?" Sharpay gave her affected laugh as she spoke the words she really believed.

Gabriella just smiled, as she had got off to a bad start with Sharpay in her first few weeks at East High when she beat Sharpay in the callbacks for the Winter Musical.

"So, are you going to be auditioning for the Spring Musical?" asked Sharpay in a would-be casual voice.

"Well, I was thinking I might audition for one of the supporting roles, in a singles audition," Gabriella replied, leaving Sharpay looking surprised but satisfied.

"Break a leg!" Sharpay laughed, and walked away.

Gabriella felt slightly ashamed that she hadn't talked to Troy about the auditions, but put it to the back of her mind – after all, Troy had Kate, didn't he?

**Thanks for reading this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think **** thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

It was homeroom. Troy was confused and slightly upset. He had got to school early so he could practice with Gabriella but he couldn't find her anywhere. In fact, Gabriella had been a bit off with Troy all week, and was it his imagination or was Gabriella avoiding him now?

She was certainly very busy; after an in-depth conversation with Zeke about Crème Brule's, she had gone to talk to Ashley about the importance of nail varnish, of all things, and even after Troy had called her over, she had gone to talk to Taylor about what seemed like every topic on the earth.

Eventually, Troy lost patience and interrupted.

"Gabriella?" he intervened cautiously, wondering what the reaction would be.

"Oh, hey Troy," she replied, flashing him a smile that didn't reach her eyes before turning back to Taylor again. Troy tried again, slightly louder then before.

"Gabriella?" he ventured. "We need to have a talk about the auditions –"

"And here it is," Gabriella interrupted. "I'll audition by myself and you audition with Kate or whoever you actually want to audition with." At that moment the bell went, letting Gabriella leave the classroom. She felt upset; it had been harder to confront Troy then she would have thought.

"Gabriella?" Troy stood in the classroom for a minute feeling bewildered and upset, before racing after her.

With all his basketball training Troy was fast, and it wasn't long before he spotted Gabriella, a person who he swore he could spot in any crowd however big.

He sprinted through the crowds, ignoring the strange looks he was getting, and caught Gabriella on the shoulder as she was going through the door of her biology class.

"Gabriella?" The sound of Troy's voice brought a mixture of emotions into Gabriella, the worst being guilt – she could hear the hurt in it. Nevertheless, she was about to turn away when Troy turned her round and made her look into his pleading eyes.

"Troy, I've got biology," Gabriella said.

"A bit of cutting class can't hurt once in a while," Troy grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

They ended up on the roof garden, Troy still having not let go of Gabriella's hand.

"So, what made you think I wanted to do the callbacks with Kate instead of you?" Troy asked gently and curiously. Gabriella shrugged, not wanting to admit to eavesdropping, before giving in.

"Well…I heard you talking to Kate about the song you were planning to do in the auditions so…"

To Gabriella's surprise and displeasure, Troy began to laugh – laugh at her! She pulled her hand away from his and began to walk away. However, Troy grabbed her hand again and apologised.

"No, Gabriella! I'm sorry! But you should know that you're the only one for me. I was talking to Kate about the auditions because she's written the song – Kelsi's in hospital at the moment with appendicitis."

"Is Kelsi going to be ok?" Gabriella gasped, feeling a surge of worry for her friend.

"Yeah, Kelsi's going to be fine – but someone had to step in for her while she was off and Kate thought that she'd have a go. That's all," Troy replied. Gabriella felt relieved but also really embarrassed and stupid.

"So, what has Kate got lined up for us, then?" Gabriella asked, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Oh, just this song that she wrote with some friends in year 8 back in England – that's ninth grade, I think," Troy replied, obviously relieved that Gabriella had calmed down. They sat in silence for a few minutes, each immersed in their own thoughts.

"We should probably get back to class…but see you next period, at the auditions!" Gabriella smiled and kissed Troy on the cheek before she rushed off, with Troy gazing lovingly after her.

**Thanks for reading this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think **** thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

It was time for the auditions.

"Hey, Captain!" It was Chad. "Team practice in the gym. Coach is supervising." Troy groaned. Coach Bolton was his dad, and still found it difficult to come to terms with Troy's singing. Troy often felt that his dad only saw him as the 'playmaker'.

"Actually, I can't make it," said Troy, desperately trying to think of another subject to distract Chad. "Um…Gabriella looks nice today, doesn't she?"

Chad looked at him as if he'd gone mad. "Dude, Gabriella's your girlfriend, not mine. But why aren't you coming to practice, Troy?"

Troy kept quiet – Chad was another person who had struggled to come to terms with Troy's love of singing – but Chad, who had, after all, been Troy's best friend since kindergarten, saw through him easily.

"Oh man! Don't tell me you're doing that musical singing thing AGAIN?!" Chad looked resigned, as if Troy had signed up for the litter rota.

"Look…" Troy looked at his watch; if he hung around for much longer he would be late for Gabriella. "Cover for me with coach, ok?" Chad just grunted, but Troy was sure that Chad would; after all, that's what best friends do!

Gabriella was waiting in the auditorium when Troy rushed in, and when he spotted her, his face broke into a big smile as he walked towards her.

"You know, I'm missing practice because of you, so if I get kicked off the team it's your fault," Troy informed her.

"Hey, Troy, I-"

"Gabriella, chill," Troy laughed, and looking up at him, Gabriella saw that he had been joking so she laughed with him.

Kate came onto the stage and made her way towards the piano, and despite what Troy had said to her Gabriella couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance – so, on top of everything else, Kate was musical too?

Troy went up to Ms Darbus to tell her that he wanted to audition with Gabriella, and then came to sit with Gabriella in the front row.

They watched the first few auditions and Gabriella had to admit that the song sounded very good, although she couldn't say the same for most of the singers!

Finally, Ms Darbus called for the pair's auditions.

"Ryan and Sharpay Evans!" she called. Before the curtains opened, Gabriella thought she heard someone behind them saying 'Actually, I think that it's Sharpay and Ryan Evans.' Typical Sharpay, Gabriella thought. She must always be first!

Ryan and Sharpay got up on stage and began to sing Kate's song at about double the speed with a heavy drumbeat, complete with over-exaggerated dance moves. Looking next to her, Gabriella could see that Troy was staring at the twins in complete disbelief. Although, admittedly, they did look very good, their tempo didn't suit the song whatsoever. They ended with a flourish, and Sharpay glared at people until they applauded.

"Bravo…Brava!" Ms Darbus said, looking slightly overwhelmed. "Now…Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez."

Everyone applauded as Troy and Gabriella ascended the stage; everyone, that is, apart from Sharpay, who was looking outraged, evidently remembering that Gabriella had told her that she would just be doing singles auditions.

Kate gave Troy and Gabriella the music and Gabriella felt a moment of panic – why had she been so stubborn as to not practise with Troy before?

Kate began to play the piano, an upbeat tune that still managed to sound deep and soulful. The lyrics sounded slightly cheesy, but put together with the tune and Troy and Gabriella's wonderful voices, it sounded excellent.

'_I'm going crazy for you, if only you knew,_

_And maybe you'd feel the same way too,_

_You're the one that I need, you make my heart beat,_

_So make me complete, feel the same way too._

The song went on with a three verses and the chorus repeated a number of times, until Troy and Gabriella finished, looking into each other's eyes. They had all but forgotten the crowd watching them until the room burst into applause.

"Bolton! Montez! You have a callback," Ms Darbus informed them, surveying them through her glasses with twinkling eyes.

To everyone's surprise, Gabriella's more then anyone's, Gabriella went over to the piano and hugged Kate.

"That was amazing, Kate! Thankyou!" she said excitedly, and then more quietly, "I'm sorry about what I said this morning. I was just feeling stressed out. Will you please forgive me?"

"Of course," Kate grinned and they smiled at each other, bonded for once.

**Thanks for reading this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think **** thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

It turned out that Ms Darbus had been very impressed with Kate's song; so much so, in fact, that Kate's compositions had been selected for the Spring Musical. Gabriella was on her way to the music rooms after school the day after the auditions to discuss with Kate and Troy the song she and Troy were going to sing in the callbacks. When Gabriella got there she found, yet again, that Troy and Kate had beaten her there and were deep in conversation. Gabriella, not wanting to eavesdrop again, was about to open he door until she heard her name.

"It's time we told Gabriella," Troy said firmly. "I hate keeping secrets from her and something like this…it just isn't fair on her."

"No, Troy," Kate argued. "Gabriella seemed to finally be starting to like me and she would never trust me again if she knew what was going on."

"No, Gabriella would understand," Troy disagreed. "She'd understand why you didn't want it known, and its not like either of us chose it."

"You're making it sound like you hate it!" Kate laughed.

"Nah, you know I love it too!" Troy laughed back. "I'm going to go and find Gabriella, ok? She should have been here five minutes ago."

Troy almost jumped out of his skin when he opened the door and found Gabriella's face, which had gone as white as a sheet, inches from his own. Gabriella had been frozen in place, but something about Troy unfroze her and she turned around and ran.

"Gabriella?" Troy groaned. Gabriella had obviously discovered that Troy was keeping a secret from her and wasn't taking it well.

Troy set off after Gabriella at a run but Gabriella was far ahead of him. Nevertheless, Troy was fast and almost managed to catch her up.

"Gabriella!" he gasped, catching her on the shoulder. "Gabriella, it's not what you think it is. Just wait for a minute and listen to me and –"

"I've heard what you have to say and it's obvious what's going on. Just leave me alone Troy – you've done enough."

Troy let go of her shoulder as if he'd been burned.

"Gabriella?" he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "Gabriella, wait, I can explain –"

However, Gabriella turned and walked away and Gabriella's mum, who had a very useful knack of turning up when Gabriella needed her, drove up in her car. Gabriella jumped into the car and they drove away, leaving Troy staring miserably after them, staring up at the sky so no one would see the tears that had suddenly sprung up in his eyes.

When Gabriella's mum asked Gabriella what was wrong, Gabriella would only say one thing.

"Troy." Gabriella wouldn't say another word for the whole of the two-minute car journey. Gabriella's mum knew it was time to call in the last resort – Taylor.

**Thanks for reading this chapter, please leave a review and tell me what you think **** thanks!**


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

"So, honey, what's the matter?" To Gabriella's chagrin, her mum had invited Taylor round and Taylor wouldn't stop asking questions until she got the full story. Gabriella sighed.

"I've been betrayed by Troy."

"BeTROYed, you mean!" Taylor sniggered, then stopped when she saw Gabriella's face. "I meant…" Taylor struggled for words, and Gabriella made no move to help her. After all, Taylor was meant to be her friend…but Taylor had never been a very good friend to her. In fact, Gabriella often felt that Taylor only wanted to be her friend because of her talent on the Scholastic Decathlon floor. The best friend Gabriella had made at East High was…she didn't even want to think his name after the discussion he'd had with Kate.

"Taylor, we're having dinner now," Mrs Montez said from the doorway, a harmless comment with a clear meaning – it's time to go! Taylor got the message and abruptly stood up and left.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mrs Montez asked. Gabriella shook her head so Mrs Montez left the room. She knew from experience that Gabriella would talk about it in her own time.

There was a knock on the door. It was Troy.

"Ah, Troy," Mrs Montez greeted him coldly.

"Look Mrs Montez," Troy said urgently. "I think Gabriella's misunderstood…please can I come and speak to her?"

"I don't think now's the best time, Troy," she told him. "But you'll see Gabriella at school tomorrow." Mrs Montez shut the door on Troy and turned around and sighed. From the information Gabriella had given her, she had reached the same conclusion about Troy that Gabriella had, and she wasn't pleased.

Gabriella was in her room and, after hearing Troy knock on the door, began to sing the song that she had sung once before when Troy had let her down.

_I thought you were my fairytale,_

_My dream when I'm not sleeping,_

_A wish upon a star that's coming true,_

_But now even I can tell,_

_That I confused my feeling with the truth,_

_When there was me and you._

She spoke the last line softly, savouring the words.

"Beautiful, as always."

Gabriella didn't even bother to turn around – she knew what she would find.

"What do you want, Troy?" she asked wearily, not wanting her heart to be broken yet again.

"Gabriella…what's up?" Troy asked, in such a gentle voice that, for a minute, Gabriella really believed that he cared.

"I've heard what you have to say to Kate, so we're done," Gabriella said, looking away and trying to swallow the lump in her throat.

"What? Gabriella? You mean what I said in the music room earlier? Then you should know that I was trying to persuade Kate to tell you her secret. But it wasn't my secret to tell."

Troy sounded so sincere that Gabriella almost believed him. But…

"Not just today. I heard you talking on Tuesday and it's really obvious you're in a relationship with her now."

There was a stunned silence. Suddenly, Troy burst out laughing. He had thought Gabriella had got the wrong idea, but this – this was just ridiculous! Gabriella stood up and stalked to the door. First Taylor, now Troy!

"Gabriella, wait!"

"I'm going downstairs now Troy," Gabriella told him in an icy voice, "And if you follow me, my mum wont be very pleased to find you break into my house."

"She already knows that," Troy dismissed. "But, Gabriella, Kate's my cousin!" Gabriella stared at Troy, stunned, and Troy took advantage of her having let her guard down.

"She didn't want anyone to know," Troy continued, "because she wanted to make her own reputation – not just to be Troy Bolton's cousin. Then, earlier today, she didn't want to tell you because it would mean she hadn't told you the truth before. I only spent so much time with her because she's my family and she's feeling lonely. Her dad's been transferred to Albuquerque with his job, but her mum, brother and sister have to stay in England with their mum's job and she's really missing them."

Gabriella was feeling embarrassed and stupid already, but one more thing was bothering her.

"When I asked you to do the auditions with me, you said 'I've already told someone…" and then you trailed off but it sounded as if because of whatever that was you couldn't audition with me…I assumed that you'd already told Kate that you'd do the auditions with her."

"No!" Troy denied. "I had told my dad that I wouldn't get involved in any more musicals…but then I though that it wasn't up to him, it was up to me."

Troy smiled at Gabriella, and suddenly, she felt that everything was perfect again. They gazed into each other's eyes, and Gabriella though that it was probably worth another Troy.

**That's the end of this book, please tell me if you liked it and leave a review and I'll put the sequel on **** hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!**


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